


Phloem Kaya

by owlettica



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Confusion, Fear, Foliage, Gen, Interbeing, Interconnection, Pain, Temporary Amnesia, plant life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-29
Updated: 2017-12-29
Packaged: 2019-02-23 09:24:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13187145
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/owlettica/pseuds/owlettica
Summary: A woman wandering the streets of Gotham struggles to remember who she is.This fic takes place after the events of Gotham ep 4x02, “The Fear Reaper”.(You know the drill: I’ve no Gotham or FOX association. Please don’t sue me. I have no money.)





	Phloem Kaya

The woman running blindly through the streets of Gotham has no idea where she is or where she’s going. Her autonomic nervous system is in overdrive. Her heart hammers wildly and palms sweat profusely.

She feels the tether connecting her to reality unravel. It terrifies her, given she’s already lost any semblance of her identity. She cannot remember who she is or what she looks like. She studies her small hands and clothing for clues, but finds none.

Sometimes, she hallucinates —or she thinks she does. Her skin becomes translucent. It enables her to see the green and blue hues of her rippling vascular system. She intermittently sees fractals, feels pulsing energy or hears static white noise.

The only thing she knows with any certainty is the unrelenting pain that is certain to return and overtake her.

There are times the agony is so intense, it doubles her over. She rests on a stoop or takes refuge in an alleyway when she finds it impossible to take another step forward. She reaches around her waist, closes her eyes and breathes deeply in an attempt to calm herself while she rides out the inexorable pain.

When it overtakes her, the torture seems unending. Intense heat emanates from her solar plexus. Every nerve ending is ablaze. She feels as if her mind and body are being racked to give rise to the limitless force exploding deep within her. It feels primordial —dangerous.

She’s given up asking for help.

When she first found herself panicked by the searing pain, she approached an older lady for assistance. The kind-faced woman turned to face her, brow softening with concern. The stranger gently reached out, pulling the tangled auburn curls away from her face like a concerned mother.

However, once the stranger revealed her obscured visage, her countenance transformed from concern to abject horror. The sympathetic woman suddenly retracted her hand as if she’d been scalded. Her eyes widened in terror. She slowly backed away and mechanically muttered.

“I’m sorry… I, I… I can’t help you…”

She pleaded for the stranger to stay. Instead, she held her hand to her mouth staring one last time before scurrying away.

Passersby (who dare to look at her) grant her wide berth. Most simply march forward avoiding eye contact.

Despite all reason and the crippling pain, something deep within her convinces her she must continue further. Through the din of sirens, traffic, various dialects and languages she hears, she senses she’s being beckoned by some unknown force.

Occasionally, she squints at her reflection in a shop window attempting to see her face. She does so in hopes of remembering who she is. It doesn’t work. She’s uncertain if it’s because it’s too hard to capture her reflection in glass or because she fears what she might see.

Eventually, she staggers to the entrance of Gotham Central Park. She can’t believe her good fortune.

_Finally._

Almost immediately, her anxiety subsides and her head clears.

She spies a path off the sidewalk leading into a thickly wooded area. Swaying branches reach down to welcome her while rustling leaves summon her.

As she ventures inward, the city sounds and smells fade. They are replaced by the sound of small branches snapping beneath her feet. She deeply inhales the scent of cedar, oak, pine, and magnolia, decaying leaves and new growth. Crepe myrtles, cherry trees, dogwoods and redbuds blossom as she approaches.

She rubs her fingers along the scratchy bark of old trees who welcome her like a long lost friend. Bushes greet her with flowers and blooms. The further she ventures into the grove, the more her pain subsides and eventually disappears altogether.

Before long, the surrounding foliage reveals a small clearing where she can comfortably rest. She finally feels tranquil, safe and secure.

She gently lowers herself and lies supine upon the grass. She rests her head on the ground to peer up at the canopy of trees that gently sway and rustle overhead. She closes her eyes and inhales the rich scent of vetiver. She feels the energy moving throughout the grass, foliage and trees. She yearns to experience it more deeply.

As if on cue, the grass responds immediately. It thins to reveal the rich earth below. She plunges her hands deeply into it. The moist and pliable soil rises to caress her fingers and palms before shifting away.

She presses her digits further. The soft rich soil displaces and yields to her fingers. Particles gather beneath her nails and nestle within her cuticles. The dirt shifts and catches against her palm as she explores more deeply. Its rich bouquet fills the air.

She burrows through humus and topsoil. She senses the ground’s inhabitants (worms, centipedes and grubs) and reaches past them to connect further.

The more she explores, the more she feels as if tendrils sprout from her fingertips. They reach through silt, sand, clay and rock broken down after eons. She feels heat emanate from decaying organic matter and detritus mix with inorganic matter to create compost and soil. She passes deep layers of sand and silt to clay and mineral deposits.

It isn’t until she arrives upon the bedrock that she stops. She’s certain if she tried hard enough, she could break through it. Instead, she decides to make her way back through the clay and sand until she returns to the humus and topsoil.

She expands her awareness and connects with the root systems of nearby trees and plants. When she concentrates, she finds herself melding with all the park’s plant life. She proceeds to stretch beyond the park, through the tiniest sprouts bursting from between busted concrete throughout the city and beyond.

She stretches further until she reaches the outermost limits of her concentration and connection with all plant life. Once she reaches the zenith of her blissful consciousness, she contracts her awareness back inward. Upon her return, the plant life remind her who she is.

She is Ivy Pepper and she is unafraid.

**Author's Note:**

> First things first: allow me to explain that title. 
> 
> Phloem is the vascular system in plants that transports organic compounds made during photosynthesis.
> 
> Kaya is the Sanskrit word referring to “body” or “that which is accumulated”. Tibetan Buddhists believe all beings (including buddhas) obtain their minds and bodies (kayas) based on the law of cause and effect (karma) and other factors. 
> 
> I thought these two words combined would capture Ivy’s inevitable metamorphosis Gotham has yet to show (at least as of ep 4x11 anyway).
> 
> Those more familiar with buddhist philosophy and meditation, likely noticed concepts of interconnection and interbeing, as well as certain meditative / yogic practices. (I confess, that wasn’t my initial intent when I began writing this, but it was hard not to once I started. After all, we tend to write what we know.)
> 
> I wrote this fic based on a “64 Sensory Prompt List” (from which I selected “digging [your] fingers into fresh dirt”) and a secondary prompt to write a 1000-word fic. (Hey! Double prizes!)
> 
> If I were to pick out a soundtrack for this fic (which you know I’m gonna), I’d have to go with [Radiohead’s “Treefingers”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0JvrQ1MrU8).
> 
> Lastly, if ANYONE made it all the way to the bottom: I had no beta reader. All errors are my own. Holler at me and lemme know if you see anything requiring my attention. 
> 
> Y’all are the greatest. Thank you. Love, peace and chicken grease!


End file.
